Feb. 14, 2006
Final Stats
BUFFALO - A season of heartbreak added another crushing chapter Tuesday night at the University at Buffalo's Alumni Arena, as Miami University's women's basketball team (7-16; 2-10 MAC) dropped an important 62-61 Mid-American Conference decision to the Bulls when UB's Viorica Badinici drained a long jumper with 5.5 seconds remaining.
It took nearly four minutes for the road weary RedHawks to find their rhythm, but a balanced effort that featured six field goals from six different players rallied Miami from a 5-0 deficit and put them in front 12-11 by the 12-minute mark. Five straight points from senior Cindi Merrill helped the RedHawks pull out to a six-point edge, and Miami would lead by as many as nine points, 27-18, following an Eve Pyle 3-pointer at 7:52.
A scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes, allowed the Bulls to battle back into the contest, as a Barbora Homolova jumper at 4:39 capped a 7-0 Buffalo run and closed the gap to 27-25. A drive to the bucket by Laura Markwood busted Miami out of its funk, and, aided by two late buckets from sophomore Jaclyn Leininger, Miami pushed out to a 34-28 halftime edge. Eight different RedHawks scored in the half, led by Merrill's seven, as Miami shot 42.4 percent from the field and forced 11 Buffalo turnovers.
Buffalo, which played the last 14 minutes of the first half with leading scorer and rebounder Heather Turner on the bench in foul trouble, charged with the sophomore forward back in the lineup and used a 10-2 run to claim a 38-36 edge by the 16-minute mark. Miami would struggle through a nearly seven-minute scoring drought and were fortunate to trail by only four before a timely Leininger 3-pointer at 12:51 pulled the RedHawks back within a point. A Markwood put-back would briefly put Miami back in front but the back-and-forth battle was just beginning.
A Jenna Schone 3-pointer at 10:09 pushed Miami's edge out to three points, but UB would knot the score with a Brooke Meunier 3-pointer and the teams continued to go bucket for bucket, forging a 53-53 tie with six minutes to play. Sparked by a pair of defensive stops, Miami was able to push ahead again, capping a 6-0 run with two Leininger free throws and taking a 59-53 edge into the final four minutes.
UB would charge back again, netting another timely 3-pointer, in the midst of a 7-0 run that put the RedHawks down by a point. A 17-foot jumper by Schone gave Miami the lead back, 61-60, and the RedHawks defended the lead with a pair of defensive stops, regaining possession with 50 seconds left. An untimely turnover, put the ball back in the Bulls' possession with 27 seconds left, however, setting up a long jumper from Badinici with 5.5 seconds remaining. After a timeout with 4.2 seconds left, Miami got a long 3-point attempt from Merrill that was off the mark.
Miami's balanced effort, which featured seven players with at least six points, was led by Schone's 10 points.
Coming off a lengthy two-game roadstand, the RedHawks return home at 2 p.m. Saturday to host Ohio University in the first half of a Miami women's and men's basketball doubleheader. The RedHawk men host Illinois State at approximately 4:30 p.m.
